Testing Out Vegetarianism

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I always wanted to be a vegetarian. It always sounded like such a noble cause: saving the animals, the environment, and my health all in one fell swoop. But my actual experience with vegetarianism is somewhat mixed.

In high school, I quit eating meat altogether for about six months, much to the chagrin of my meat-loving family. Eventually the weight of fixing my own vegetarian dinners was too burdensome, so I decided to incorporate chicken into my meals. A few months after that, pork found its way back into my diet. I managed to avoid beef entirely for 10 years, before I finally broke down and had a hamburger.

A lot people are probably similar to me. Vegetarianism sounds like the right thing to do, but you're not quite sure you can actually go all the way.

October is also National Vegetarian Awareness Month, so for the past three weeks, my husband and I have taken on a new challenge: eating a vegetarian diet. Neither of us are interested in becoming full-time vegetarians, but we also realized that we were perhaps relying on meat a little too much. This would be our experiment to get us used to mixing more fruits and vegetables into our meal planning.

Like many people with diabetes, I was a bit concerned that eating vegetarian might be a gateway to a diet full of pasta, cereal and bread — which in moderation isn't a bad thing, but it's hard to build a healthy diet based solely on carbs. Luckily it turns out that being vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean giving up all your favorite protein options.

I discovered there are actually several different kinds of vegetarianism, with varying degrees of severity in diet restrictions:

Ovo vegetarianism excludes all meat and dairy, but includes eggs

Lacto vegetarianism excludes all meat and eggs, but includes dairy

Ovo-lacto vegetarianism excludes all meat, but includes both dairy, milk and honey — this type of vegetarian is what most people commonly call plain old "vegetarian"

Flexitarianism is not really a form of vegetarianism, but those who call themselves "flexitarians" eat a mostly vegetarian diet, with occasional inclusion of meat, dairy or eggs

Whew! So many options... For our little experiment, my husband and I chose to go with "Ovo-lacto vegetarian." It gave us the motivation to eat meatless and experiment with more veggie options, but it didn't limit us so much that we couldn't have a vegetarian omelet (eggs) for brunch or cheese (dairy) on our Gardenburgers.

I also reached out to some other PWDs to learn about their experiences with vegetarianism. Chrystal, a 30-something type 2 in California, said she has recently ventured into this world as well, and is still exploring the choices.

"It's about discipline and figuring out what is the right thing to do with yourself and your body," Chrystal says. "I have really decided to take ownership of my body and become healthy. I am not sure what type of vegetarian path I should follow. I have not decided yet if I want to be a strict veggie or a person that will still eat fish. I am leaning toward still eating fish only."

Some people have found the most success as flexitarians or, like Chrystal, as pescetarians, because it's also flexible enough to allow some indulgences at restaurants or family gatherings, but encourages folks to fill up on fruits, veggies, beans and whole grains. This means you'll likely consume fewer calories, less saturated fat and cholesterol, and more of the good stuff, like vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Although a vegetarian or vegan diet won't magically "cure" your diabetes — despite some erroneous claims — scientists have found that a meatless diet can do quite a bit of good for people with diabetes. A study in Diabetes Care showed that people with type 2 diabetes on a vegan diet lowered their cholesterol and improved their kidney function, as compared to people who were on the standard American Diabetes Association diet (hmmm). Ironically, the vegan diet was actually easier to follow for the participants, and fewer people dropped out of the vegan group compared to the folks in the ADA diet group.

Naturally, eating more vegetables and carbs that are low on the glycemic index can help make it easier to manage your blood sugars. But the risk of consuming too many carbs is always a challenge, and it can be a slippery slope once you cut down on protein. For my month-long experiment, I have definitely noticed an increase my carb intake, because I'm relying more on pastas and sandwich-based entrees. However, I can also tell I'm eating a lot more vegetables because I'm ordering pasta with eggplant, or grilled vegetable paninis.

Pamela, a 36-year-old type 1 PWD from Missouri, says that when she first started out on a vegetarian diet in high school, she ate tons of pasta and carbs to replace meat, which of course made it harder to manage her blood sugar.

"As I became more aware of good nutrition my diet became much more balanced," she explains. "Just because it's 'diabetic-friendly' or 'vegetarian' doesn't mean it's good for you. I learned more about cooking and the principles of clean eating. I learned I needed quality lean protein, healthy fats and nutrient-rich carbs."

Elizabeth Edelman, a 30-year-old type 1 in Ohio and co-founder of Diabetes Daily, found her vegan diet to be a benefit to her diabetes, but not to her waistline when she started consuming more carbs instead of protein. "I did increase my carb intake by a lot. I'm not a fan of tofu or the other vegan meat substitutes, so my main source of protein was beans and nuts. I ate mostly beans and rice with loads of fresh veggies and fruit. Lots of oatmeal with almond milk and fresh fruit for breakfast and hummus and tortilla chips or vegetables for snacks."

Caroline Bohl, an RD and CDE who works as a registered dietician and educator at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, says, "With diabetes, we rely on protein foods to help keep people feeling full, replace carbs, and help stabilize blood sugars. So, being vegan or vegetarian limits the proteins available."

She says that if you're a vegetarian, but are still eating dairy, eggs, and even fish (if you're a pescatarian), then you're probably good on protein intake. If not, make sure your diet meets your nutritional needs and investigate other sources of protein (some of which may include carbohydrate):

soy products, like tofu and tempeh, and soy substitutes like soy milk and soy cheeses

Caroline says it's important to choose your carbs wisely: "The vegetarian or vegan diet is typically higher carbs so patients will want make sure to choose high-fiber carbs (whole grains, whole wheat products, beans). If not, they may notice they are seeing higher blood sugars and using more insulin."

There is no scarcity of places to find vegetarian and vegan recipes if you're up for the challenge, like The Vegetarian Times and VegWeb.

"Cookbooks are your best friend, vegetarian or not," Pamela says. "I recommend the Eat Clean series of books by Tosca Reno, as well as a book called La Dolce Vegan. I make my own seitan ("wheat meat") and bread from recipes in that book."

Caroline recommends The South Beach Diet book, not to follow implicitly, but because "they tend towards high-quality carbs, good fat sources, and alternate proteins."

From the folks we talked to, some veggie faves include:

* Karen, mom of a son with type 1: "He is a very adventurous eater and loves to try new things! If I had to pick one or two things, I'd say roasted red peppers with fresh mozzarella, and egg drop soup with tofu and coconut rice."

* Elizabeth: "One of my favorite things to eat when I was vegan (and still do) is Mujadarah — which is essentially rice, lentils and caramelized onions. I would add a cucumber and tomato salad on top. It's very easy to prepare and really good left over!"

* Pamela: "Eggs. I love hard-boiled eggs and omelets."

* Chrystal: "There is a wonderful chick pea curry recipe that made me decide that being vegetarian wasn't so bad."

Ronnie Gregory, who guest blogged here at the 'Mine last week, is also a vegetarian who tries to eat low-carb. If you're concerned about your carb intake, check out his sample menu as a reference guide. You can also find more support on diabetes social networks, and there's even a Facebook group for low-carb diabetic vegetarians!

My personal favorite thing to eat has to be Gardenburgers on a whole wheat bun. Gardenburgers are very tasty, and you can put anything on top — from traditional lettuce and tomato, to avocado and cheese, to chipotle hummus. Yum! We're also big fans of ethnic foods, like Thai, Indian and Mexican, which all come with really great vegetarian options.

But tell us, Dear Readers, what are your thoughts on vegetarianism? If you have any recipes to share, I'm all ears — I still have 10 days to go!

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more
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I don't see how a Gardenburger is a better choice. Sure, it's got veggies in it, but it also has RICE - and 18g of carbs. I know for a fact when I eat rice it spikes my blood sugar SO high. Eating meat (especially the good grass-fed stuff) has zero carbs and much less impact on blood sugar. That's a much smaller bolus!It also has way too many ingredients for a burger, not all of which I have heard of. I understand you aren't doing ovo-lacto-vegetarianism for other reasons buuuuut I'd rather eat 100% pure meat than some frankenfood product.

Allison|2011-10-21

I forgot to post my thoughts on vegetarianism explicitly (I guess it's already sort of stated) but here it is - I believe animals were created for us to eat, especially in their purest form. I believe fish is the healthiest "meat" option but anything grass-fed/free-range/blah blah is excellent too. (I don't have enough money to eat that stuff all the time but I will one day when I'm done with grad school!) I believe there are nutrients in meat you cannot get from any other source, and I believe that living the paleo or primal lifestyle is the way to go - the rule of small numbers fits in with this plan so well!

Sysy|2011-10-21

I think I could be a vegetarian in terms of animal protein requirements. I believe everyone has different dietary needs. I feel pretty healthy eating animal protein in very small doses. Lately, by experimenting, I have found I do surprisingly well (energy wise) only eating eggs (and maybe a little chicken once a week. It's not easy trying to find the right mix of foods for ourselves but experimenting is the way to do it. And to honestly listen to our bodies. If you feel healthy with some added meat (preferably organic) then great, I'd stick with that, only I'd make sure I wasn't overdoing the portions. I also think experimenting with vegetarianism is probably a decent way to get into the habit of adding vegetables into one's diet. Problem is most vegetarians I know (where I live) eat nothing but white flour all day. Definitely, not recommended. I think the paleo diet is great if someone feels healthy while on it and their blood tests look good. And I would recommend only eating organic veggie burgers because the soy in the non organic ones often contain hexane, something I wouldn't recommend ingesting. Anyway, my point is it really depends on each individual whether vegetarianism is the right choice or not. So good luck to everyone trying to figure that out, it's not easy :)

Ariana|2011-10-21

Sigh... I'm a T1 and I was vegan for five years, vegetarian for a few more, and just about completely ruined my health. I was one of those "super healthy" types, and made almost everything from scratch, only ate whole grains, etc. But the soy products gave me hypothyroidism, I ended up eating too many carbohydrates, the plant oils were inflammatory, and I gained a lot of weight over those years, finally ending in adrenal exhaustion. My health improved when I added animal products back into my diet, and I am the healthiest and leanest I've been in a LONG time after adopting more of a paleo diet. Just had to tell you my experience, it would have felt wrong not to!

Eileen|2011-10-21

I've been a vegetarian for the last 16 years and am doing great. Most carbs I eat are whole grains. Eat lots of cheese and nuts, plenty of veggies in salads, stir-frys and just sliced up. I've been type 1 for 49 years. The only problem with a diabetic/vegetarian diet is when eating out- especially when you don't like pasta!

Natalie|2011-10-22

I think the ovo-lacto view might be a good one, because it does provide animal protein and fats, which may well have nutrients in them that have not been as well studied as the phytochemicals, which are all the rage nowadays. I'm not so keen on pescetarian, because the sea is being fished out, and farmed fish are not as healthy or toxin free as wild fish. But if we exterminate the wild fish, what will our children eat? The other thing about veganism, in particular, is what if you don't really like vegetables? And also don't like frankenfood substitutes? Vegans simply CANNOT get all essential nutrients without supplementing, and that defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it?I really do ascribe to the principle of eating REAL food, so I eat as many non-starchy vegetables as I can stand, but don't eat grains or fruits, because I get MUCH better BG control that way. Way fewer highs, way fewer lows, and not using very much insulin. And I don't think there are any essential nutrients that you can't find in vegetables, along with dairy and eggs. Fruit and grains simply aren't necessary. I do occasionally eat meat or fish or chicken, but not often -- I don't think eating meat, even red meat, once or twice a week is at all bad for me, and my latest lipid panel bears me out. Since diabetics mostly die of heart disease, it makes sense to protect your heart!

mollyjade|2011-11-02

I've had type 1 for 25 years and I've been vegan for about 5. My a1c's have actually gone down since I went vegan, though I made other lifestyle changes at the same time. I'm the only one in my family without high blood pressure or cholesterol, even though I'm also the only one with diabetes. So it works pretty well for me. Of course, YDMV.

[...] its benefits. diabetes . Find out how to help diabetes supplements low blood sugar of course. Fruits and vegetables for diabetes, diabetic patients Article by Elvira Filinovich People with diabe... difficult to control blood sugar, because there is almost nothing to eat totally free of [...]

Dolores|2013-08-11

I had a similar experience. I was vegetarian for 4 years and vegan for 2, I got very ill and ended up with a vitamin deficiency for B-12 and Iron. One of the issues I had, was eating enough vegetable matter to equal the amount of calories and nutrients in meat. You have to eat a very large amount, and I get full easily. I also had a lot of trouble with hypoglycemia even just a few hours after eating a large vegetarian meal.I went back to eating meat at my doctor and nutritionist's insistence and my health and blood sugar control improved drastically. I don't eat a lot of meat, just about 4-6 oz a day. I would never recommend a diabetic go full vegetarian. Eat more vegetables and reduce the amount of meat you eat? Sure! Cutting meat entirely makes nutrition and blood sugar control way too difficult.

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